« Traditional Pan-Orthodox Vespers was celebrated in London »
09-03-2014 
On 9th March, the Day of Orthodoxy, the traditional Pan-Orthodox Vespers was celebrated in London.
This year the celebration was held at the Patriarchate of Antiochian Church of St. George. The celebrants were Archbishop Gregory of Thyateira (Patriarchate of Constantinople), Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh (Moscow Patriarchate), Archbishop Anatoly of Kerch, Sufragan Bishop of the Diocese of Sourozh (Moscow Patriarchate), and Bishop Athanasius of Tropea, Sufragan Bishop of the Archdiocese of Thyateira. Among the worshippers were clergy of Constantinople, Antiochian, Russian, Georgian, Serbian, Romanian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches. Archpriest Joseph Skinner and Protodeacon Dimitri Nedostupenko of the Cathedral of the Dormition also participated, representing the Diocese of Sourozh.
The sermon was delivered by Fr Liviu Barbu (Romanian Orthodox Church).
The service was adorned by hymns in Greek, Arabic, Church Slavonic, Georgian and English sung by parish choirs of all the Orthodox jurisdictions.
The Vespers was organized and conducted by the Pan-Orthodox Pastoral Commission of the Bishops’ Assembly in Great Britain and Ireland, headed at present by Archbishop Elisey. The order of the common service was coordinated by Fr Joseph Skinner, secretary of the Pan-Orthodox Pastoral Commission and member of the secretariat of the Pan-Orthodox Bishops’ Assembly.
At the end of the service Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira led a short prayer for peace in Syria and for the much-suffering Church of Antioch.